St Paul’s is proud of the expertise of the staff and the high quality programming that they bring to the centre.Our program is designed to reflect our philosophy to create a developmentally appropriate caring and teaching environment of the highest quality. Caregivers carefully plan to ensure the philosophy is adhered to. Their program is designed to meet the needs of all children, allowing for flexibility to achieve the centre's philosophy.One vital aspect of developmentally appropriate practice is having an understanding of how children grow and develop. Caregivers match observed actions and behaviours with expected stages of development. Children mature at different rates and they do not all reach the same stage of development at the same time. We offer a variety of programs specially designed to suit the needs of all children. Caregivers offer more challenging and difficult activities to meet the developmental needs of children at various age groups.Our centre is a nurturing and learning environment. The early years of a child's life are full of learning experiences. Our goal is to make those experiences both enjoyable and beneficial to children. We want to help all children feel good about themselves and develop confidence in themselves. Children with confidence are able to solve problems and are better able to cope with the challenges and changes that life brings.We develop a well-rounded teaching and caring environment that is beneficial to children's well being. The criteria which reflects our program is: - interactions amongst staff and children, curriculum, staff-parent interactions, staff qualifications and development, staffing ratio, physical environment, health and safety, nutrition and food services and evaluation. When assessing the strengths and weaknesses of our program, we use these criteria to conduct a self-evaluation.INTERACTIONS AMONGST STAFF AND CHILDRENThe early years of childhood are exciting. Children have a desire to learn and discover. Our program takes advantage of a child's natural curiosity and motivation to learn. Everything caregivers do throughout the whole day reflects the way in which children learn. Teaching and caring are approached in a developmental way with enthusiastic interested adults who know and understand each and his/her special needs. Caregivers encourage self-discovery and problem solving skills, therefore allowing optimum learning to occur. Learning at our centre is enjoyable experience that will stay with children forever.Day to day experiences are implemented into our practice. Children are encouraged to learn through interactions with adults and other children. Staff plan the environment to allow children to frequently interact with adults and children as individuals as well as in group situations. Caregivers listen and respond to assist children to develop in all areas.We cater for a wide diversity of backgrounds. We treat all children with respect, physical affection and comforting children when necessary. Children are given positive acceptance in whatever they are doing; therefore allowing them to feel there is unquestionable acceptance in everything they do. The way in which caregivers talk to children is tremendously important. We encourage children to think about what they are doing and challenge them to think further. Asking open-ended questions helps children to be creative, solve problems and think for themselves. The way in which a question is asked or phrased will encourage children to share their personal feelings and experiences.PHYSICAL SPACE AND ACTIVITIESOur centre aims to provide a total environment in which children are encouraged to ask questions, experiment, create and explore. Our program assists children to become independent by allowing them the opportunity to choose from a variety of experiences. We plan the playroom and the outdoor areas very carefully, facilitating children's growth by creating distinct interest areas.The way in which we create a program that allows children to explore their own interests is acquired with careful planning We constantly observe children, do checklists and evaluate our program. Caregivers take advantage of situations that are unplanned but interest children and provide for learning experiences to occur. They offer flexibility and accept spontaneity in their program.Children are given plenty of space and time to explore. We give children uninterrupted periods of play and allows them to become completely involved in their play. When you visit our centre, you will see that children are playing. Play creates a valuable atmosphere for learning. Play is hands on activity where children are learning by doing. Failure, embarrassment and incorrect responses are infrequent as our activities are process oriented. The process of actually playing is much more important than the end product. The motivation to learn is an important goal in our centre as it is in any educational endeavour. Childhood play enables children to develop essential attitudes towards learning.As children are playing in their distinct areas such as block, home corner, manipulative toys, art and craft, sand and water play, book corner, cooking, music and movement, and outdoors, they are developing skills and learning many different concepts. They are also finding out about their world, other cultures and lifestyles and values. This will enable them to develop and grow into adults who can meet challenges and are willing and able to adjust to change.Our daily routine reflects our goals of providing a well rounded teaching and caring environment. We aim to allow each child to feel secure and independent, to allow them the opportunity to move easily from one activity to the next as confidently as possible . We follow the same routine each day so children know what will be happening next.Our program is evaluated on everything that happens within the day from the time of arrival, quiet time, noisy time, active and messy play, to the time of departure. Caregivers observe how children play, how they use materials, listen and talk. Planning is done accordingly. Our physical space encourages self-learning and discovery, provides enjoyment and meets the needs of each individual child.